McAlister's Deli — Restaurant in Valparaiso

The last few times we have been here, the staff has been extremely unprofessional. They are constantly out of things which, is understandable with the economy,but they just substitute without asking or many times food items are forgotten all together. One time they handed me a small (kids size cup ) when I ordered a regular tea. I asked if they were out of cups, so the cashier looked at another cashier and they kind of laughed … then she got a regular size cup for my drink (ok?). My daughter and I got there right when they opened a few months ago. We ordered two sandwiches and two chips. However , we waited from 10:30ish after ordering until 11:45 to get our food! We were told they took several online orders before us. They gave us a cookie for our time 😳 at 11:15 I asked an employee walking around and goofing off if he could check on our order,but he never came back.

Last year they messed my order up 3 times so they sent me a VIP meal voucher in the mail. It was a letter with the info on what we would receive and the signature of the manager. It was just the letter , no cards or coupons. I called and said that we didn’t receive any coupons it’s just a letter and she said that’s fine, that’s all we would need. I went in to use it yesterday and of course they said I can’t use it. The supervisor never apologized about the error on their part just said that there’s nothing they can do for me and that employee doesn’t with there anymore. Then she went back to the kitchen area and was telling the staff while they were laughing and smiling about it. She said that she didn’t care if I called corporate ,but nothing she could do for me so I guess that’s...

The one star is because you have to. From out of town working at office park nearby. 29 degrees and a cup of soup and sandwich sounded good. Could have driven the extra 1/2 mile to Panera which I ended up doing in the end.... Line was from counter to front door. I was midway. 15 minutes and not one order taken. 23 minutes and one lucky person won the lottery and actually got to order food at the counter. No management or apparent responsible leadership to be found anywhere on the premises. God bless the likely 3 people that were working, but the one counter person seemed focused only on online orders. Nothing said to the crowd about what the deal was. Barely even acknowledged the people waiting if it all. Finally got to second in line (due to everyone else in front walking out). Thought even if I get an order put in in the next 15 minutes who knows how long to get food??? Gave up spot and left for Panera. SAD way to operate a business. I get it is hard to find people to work these days... Didn't seem to be a problem at Panera or the Panda Express I almost went to. Should be a nice pick up for somebody who knows how to run a business. Decent location and looks like a lot of traffic. Don't expect the folks that own this one to be in business long when you get the reputation for this level of service and quality on a routine basis. Office staff where I was working said it has seen issue for a while. McCallisters is pretty good across the board when I have been. This one is one to avoid unless you have a couple hours to burn for a "quick" lunch or they bring in someone who has actually managed a restaurant and understands...

I decided to stop here for lunch because I haven't been here before and after looking at the menu online I saw there were lots of choices so it sounded good. Meh is really the best I can offer 😕 I had the pick two with chicken salad sandwich and potato soup. The chicken salad wasn't bad not a lot of flavor but overall pretty good and thankfully not full of celery like a lot of chicken salad. Not a very big amount of chicken salad on there which was kind of disappointing it was maybe a tablespoon or two. The potato soup, however, was the most bland and boring potato soup I have ever had. Literally taste like it came out of a can... Absolutely no flavor very few actual potatoes... Imagine mashed potatoes liquefied and that pretty much covers it. Service was okay the guy at checkout was very very polite. From what I saw with an interaction with another customer they were very upset about their portion size not being consistent from the last time they ate there which I totally understand.

Overall it was $15 including a $2 tip that I put on there before even getting my order which I'm fine with. Honestly though the food itself was not worth the $13.

Cleanliness wise no complaints. I did use the bathroom and the door is very difficult to stall and you basically have to squeeze in and out.

Probably won't be coming back here just feel very disappointed in the amount of money it cost for a very bland meal. But thank you too Matthew who was...